TELEVISION stars Helen Baxendale and Patrick Baladi swapped the studio for Weymouth harbourside as filming commenced for a new one-off drama.

Cold Feet star Helen, and Patrick, from hit comedy The Office, were in the resort to film scenes for The Only Boy For Me, a love story due to be screened on ITV next year.

The actors visited with a 30-strong crew from London-based High Stakes Productions for the three-day shoot, using locations around the harbour, Greenhill and Portland Bill.

Members of Weymouth Drama Club were used as extras including one scene yesterday where they had to act as Helen Baxendale's film crew.

Jacqui Gisborne, marketing and film officer for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, said an increasing amount of TV and film producers were choosing to shoot in the area because of the diverse locations available and 'film-friendly' locals.

Jacqui Gisborne said: "Both Helen and Patrick as well as the production crew said how they loved filming in this part of the world.